Three Reasons to Love

by Keira Montclair

  She vowed to give him all the time he needed, not to judge him, and to be a good listener.

  “My mom died in a car accident, and I was in the car with her. My leg was injured in baseball practice, so I was in the back seat. It started pouring out and she went into a skid near the bridge on West Avenue. We hit the bridge a couple of times before the car went across the street and flipped on its side, pinning her inside the vehicle.

  “I went crazy. I heard someone outside call 911, so I got out of my seat and tried to save her, but I couldn’t. She told me I had to get out because my father couldn’t handle losing both of us. She told me to take care of my brothers, as if she knew she was going to die.”

  “Oh, Nate.” She gripped his hand and kissed his cheek.

  “I tried so hard to free her, but her chest was pinned by the steering wheel. When the EMTs arrived, one of them lifted me out of the way. I could see her breathing was different, and I’m sure I yelled at them to get her out, but they couldn’t. I watched her take her last breath, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”

  “I’m so sorry. What an awful experience for you. That’s why you’re so protective of your brothers, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. I had to make sure they both graduated.”

  “How long ago was it?”

  “I was eighteen, seven years ago.”

  “I’m twenty-four, a year behind you. Why don’t I remember you in high school?”

  “Because I was a scrawny wimp.”

  She giggled. “Well, I was a history geek.”

  He kissed her again and said, “My sweet geek.”

  She snuggled against him, running her fingers down his chest.

  He sighed again, “Sam thinks that’s why I tried to control you, that I couldn’t help my mother so I’m always trying to save other people. Protect them.” He ran his fingers through her hair.

  “He could be right. That’s something that will affect you the rest of your life. I’m sure you’ve talked to enough medical personnel to know you couldn’t have done anything more than you did.”

  “I have spoken with several. They all said internal injuries are often deadly.”

  She rested her head on the pillow so she could gaze straight into his eyes. “I think your mother would want you to forgive yourself.”

  “That’s what my counselor says. I can’t argue with that. She was a great mom, and I know she would have loved you. She always wanted a daughter.” He paused. “Do me a favor and talk to me if you ever feel like I’m being too controlling or overprotective? I’m going to try my best to fight it…to get beyond it, but I know it won’t go away overnight.”

  “Deal.”

  “I want this to work—I want us to work. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

  “I feel the same way. And know that I love you even more for being so open with me.”

  His stomach made a loud sound. He gave her a sheepish grin. “Are you still interested in breakfast?”

  “I’m starving, so the answer is yes. Can I help you?”

  He climbed out of bed and said, “I’ll be in and out of the bathroom in five minutes, if you don’t mind. Then it’s all yours, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen. If you make it in time, you can help me with the toast. Does that work for you?”

  She nodded. He kissed her, then climbed out of bed and padded down the hall in the nude. Men just had no shame. She huddled under the sheets, letting herself bask in the feeling of being happy and in love. She breathed in his scent still on the pillow. Though she couldn’t quite describe it, she now recognized that scent as Nate.

  Could this happiness really be hers?

  True to his word, he was out of the shower and out of the bathroom in five minutes. He stuck his head into the room and tossed her a towel, his hair curling on his head. She wondered if it would be all curls if he wore it long. “I can’t promise we have the nicest towels, but they’re clean. That’s Sam’s job, and he does a pretty good job at keeping the bathroom clean. I can’t promise the same with the kitchen. That’s my job.”

  She took the towel and wrapped it around her, taking her clothes with her and heading to the bathroom. While she’d already showered, she appreciated the towel. She wanted to freshen up a bit before breakfast. Several minutes later, she entered the kitchen to the smell of sausage in the frypan.

  “May I help? I’ll take care of the toast and set the table.”

  “I’d like nothing better than for us to work together,” he said with a grin.

  She jumped right in, enjoying the fun of preparing a meal with him. They puttered around each other, comfortable despite the silence, until they sat down to eat. Their plates were heaping with eggs, sausage, toast, and berries.

  “Nate, this looks wonderful. I love blueberries.”

  “Thank Sam for that. He keeps us healthy. Tristan is all about junk food, and I try to be better than when I was his age.”

  She took a forkful of eggs and almost moaned in pleasure. “The eggs are delicious.” It tasted like he’d used just a touch of cheese.

  “So do you accept my apology for last night?”

  “Of course. We were both upset. I get it. As I said before, I owe you an apology, too.”

  Her phone rang, which made her jump. One glance at the screen and she said to Nate, “It’s Ryan. I’m going to answer it.”

  He nodded and started to clear the table of the breakfast plates, setting them by the sink.

  “Hi, Ryan.” She gritted her teeth, hoping he had more good news for her.

  “Lauren, can you come down to the station? We need you to take a look at something.”

  “Sure, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Is that okay?”

  “Do you need me to pick you up?”

  “No, I’m having breakfast with Nate. He can bring me, I think.” She turned to catch his gaze and he nodded in agreement. “Yes, he’ll bring me. Ryan, this isn’t a line-up, is it? You know I didn’t get a good look at any of the guys. I’d never be able to pick them out.”

  “No, this is a formality. I’ll fill you in when you get here, but we’ve been able to identify several of the men, and the college is assisting us.”

  She hung up and repeated everything to Nate.

  He left what he was doing and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “This is it. This could be over for you. Maybe we’ll finally be able to leave it all behind.”

  How she hoped he was right.

  ***

  By the time they walked into the police station, Lauren was trembling. Somehow the visit to the station made it feel so much more real. Nate held her hand—a lifeline—and she had to remind herself to stop squeezing him so tight.

  Ryan greeted her as soon as they stepped inside. The Summerhill Police Department was not huge, but their jurisdiction did sometimes involve Summerhill College, though the college had their own security. “Follow me.” As they moved down the hallway, Ryan continued, “We’ve spent quite a bit of time working with security at the college, and they’ve been more than helpful. We all want to end this before another attack happens. I made them aware of your incident at Cornell yesterday, but we didn’t uncover anything unusual last night. I hope the victim went straight home, wherever that is for her.”

  Ryan was all business when he was in his uniform, but she trusted him completely, so she followed him without question or comment. He brought them into a room that had no furniture other than a table surrounded by chairs and a small desk piled with equipment in the back. A projection screen had been rolled down across from the table.

  Ryan introduced her to his police chief. No one introduced the man at the desk, though he nodded to her in a friendly manner.

  The chief then took over.

  “Lauren, we’ve uncovered a video that shows a woman being attacked by a group of men. Ryan had reported this to us when it happened, but we need you to tell us that the woman in this video is indeed you, that this was not something in which you w
ere willingly involved. I apologize if that sounds crass, but it has been suggested that this was being filmed for a college production. Do you understand what we’re asking you?”

  “Yes.” She gripped Nate’s hand and Ryan nodded to her, his way of showing support.

  “Please have a seat. I apologize for any discomfort it may cause you, but we’ll have to play the video in its entirety. Please let me know when you’re ready.” She took the seat at the center of the table, and Nate sat directly beside her, sliding his chair even closer to hers and holding on to her hand.

  The chief instructed Ryan to stand off to the side, and as soon as he moved, Lauren nodded. “I’m ready.”

  Someone dimmed the lights, and the video started on the screen in front of her. It picked up as soon as she was pushed into the trees. The picture was crisp considering the weather conditions and the rain. It had been shot at an angle that did not show the cars in the lot or any of the men’s faces. They’d obviously all established beforehand where the person taking the video would stand, so they all turned their backs to the camera.

  She took a deep breath and vowed to remain calm.

  But she couldn’t. The visual brought it all back to her. Unable to stop herself, she jumped out of her chair. Nate followed her, so she leaned over to clutch his arms. She saw hands on her breasts, hands on her pants—tugging and pulling and touching—all while they laughed. Punches and kicks.

  She also noticed something else that made her cry.

  How hard she had fought.

  In the video, she kicked and spat and screamed and squirmed, grabbing her mace can and spraying it, hitting three men with it, causing them to swear and swing at her.

  Every time a fist hit her, she reacted with a yell, and before it ended, she was sobbing and sobbing, gripping Nate, who had his arms around her shoulder. Ryan had edged close enough to keep her from falling, but his jaw was clenched tight, and she could tell he was holding himself back. With difficulty.

  “Bastards. Those bastards…” Her last words came out in a gut-wrenching sob. The video came to an abrupt halt, but not before she saw something that brought back another memory.

  When the lights came back up, Nate helped her back into the chair beside him, while Ryan stayed behind her and lowered his hands to her shoulders—a silent show of support.

  The chief said, “Officer Ramsay, I need you to step away from her. Please stand in the back.”

  Ryan did as he was instructed, but Nate didn’t loosen his grip on her hand.

  “I apologize for how upsetting that was for you, but are you able to answer a few questions for me, Lauren?” the chief asked.

  “Yes,” she said, her hand swiping at the tears that refused to stop.

  “Is the person being attacked in this video you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you tell me where and when this happened?”

  She gave him the location, the date, and the time.

  “Did you commit to this activity of your own free will?”

  “No, I did not. I was walking to my car after studying at Summerhill College library, and one of them came at me from behind, shoving me into the others, forcing me into the trees. I was trying to get into my car.”

  The chief held his hand up to indicate that was all he needed to hear.

  “Did you know any of these men or can you name any of them?”

  “No, I cannot.”

  The chief said, “Is there anything at all that you can tell us that could help us identify any of these men?”

  Her heart started to sink, but something in the video had sparked a memory, and if she was right…

  Lauren stood up again. “Yes, there is, Chief.”

  His expression assured her that she had his attention.

  “Proceed,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

  “Can you stop the video when I tell you?”

  The chief glanced at the man running the equipment in the back. “Sure can. Just hold your hand up when you want me to stop it.”

  “Do you need the lights off, Lauren?” the chief asked.

  “Yes.” Once they complied and her eyes had adjusted, she said, “Go ahead.”

  She glanced at Nate, who squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek. Soaking in additional strength from his nearness, she faced the screen just as the video started to play. She forced herself not to react to the cruelty or the harsh memories it evoked. Midway through, she held her hand up.

  The video stopped. There were no faces in the video, but this was the scene when the leader had taken his glove off to slap her.

  “What is it, Lauren?” the chief asked.

  “There,” her finger pointed to the center of the video. “He took his glove off. There’s a tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. It’s a snake, and I remember the initial D. If you enlarge it, you’ll see what I’m talking about. I didn’t remember until I saw him remove his glove.”

  The chief nodded to the man in the back.

  They all watched as the visual in front of them grew and grew.

  And suddenly there it was—a snake with the initials D. A. M.

  Nate whispered, “Dominic A. Miller.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The following week, Lauren was leaving her favorite class when someone approached her from behind, startling her. “Lauren!”

  It was Trevor, Dom’s friend. The sight of him sent a shiver down her back. “I just want to say how sorry I am that you were hurt by people I had considered friends.” Randy Brooks and another guy—Glenn something—were with him. She remembered him vaguely, though he was a few years younger than her. He’d always given her a creepy vibe. “Dom and the other guys who attacked you got arrested last night, exactly as they should have been.”

  “Yeah. Because of you, our fraternity is being shut down.”

  “Shut up, Randy.” Trevor shut the other man down quickly, but that didn’t stop Randy from glaring at her.

  “You got what you wanted,” Glenn said, staring at her in a way that instantly made her uncomfortable.

  Lauren turned away. “I’m not going to listen to this,” she said over her shoulder.

  “No, wait,” Trevor shouted. He took a few steps toward her so she stopped to hear him out. The other two stayed behind. “I meant what I said. I’m older than the others. They’re still in their last year of school. The purpose of the brotherhood was never to hurt people. Dom and the others deserved what they got. I guess I should grow up and move on. I graduated two years ago. Time for me to act like it.”

  “Thank you, Trevor. I have to go.” She spun on her heel and left. Trevor had always seemed nicer than the others, but she didn’t plan on having a conversation with him.

  Truthfully, she was kind of shocked Randy wasn’t part of the group that had attacked her outside the library. According to Ryan, Dominic had confessed to planning her attack, “just for fun,” though he’d mentioned her work with the support group. They’d made all the arrests after one of the youngest pledges had confessed everything. His only part had been filming the video, and once his very rich parents had learned of his involvement, his lawyer had traded the names for his freedom as long as he left the area, promising never to return.

  He’d been more than happy to squeal and then run.

  No one had admitted to starting the fire yet, but everyone was confident the case would break soon.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about the attack as she drove home, and when she arrived at her apartment, she was quick to lock the door behind her. Stacy was seated at the kitchen table studying. “Hey, you look like you’ve seen a ghost again. Everything okay?”

  She fell into one of the other chairs and said, “Not really. Some of the other frat members stopped me in the quad to apologize to me, and…” Something dawned on her. Why hadn’t she thought of it before?

  “What is it?”

  “It was Trevor, Randy, and Glenn. None of them attend class at Cornell, and Trevor graduated f
rom Summerhill a while ago. I wonder why they were on campus?”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it. They’d be foolish to threaten you now. I’m sure you already have all the news from your stepbrother, but you have to see the article I found on Facebook.” She rotated her laptop so Lauren could read it. “It talks about the arrests they made yesterday. It’s a relief they got all seven of them.”

  Lauren skimmed the post from the local news. The guys who’d hurt her were all in jail. “Gamma Delta’s gone. They’re actually gone.”

  Stacy rubbed Lauren’s arm. “I’ve already heard plenty of stories about how awful they were, especially to women. I’m proud of you. You stuck with this and put an end to a severe blight on Summerhill’s campus. Congratulations. Is Nate home? You should call him.”

  “No, he’s working today.”

  Stacy grinned. “You two are so stinking cute together. If he has any single firefighter friends, I wouldn’t be opposed to meeting them,” she said with a wink.

  Lauren couldn’t help but laugh. “He’s pretty wonderful. I’ll let him know. He does have a brother who works with him, by the way.” A jaw-cracking yawn surprised her. “Ugh. I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

  “No wonder, given what you’ve been up to. Shutting down dangerous frats. Kissing a hot fireman.” This time Stacy’s smile was more contained. “Why don’t you go lie down for a bit?”

  “Maybe you’re right. I didn’t sleep well last night. I think I’ll try to get a nap in before I start my paper.”

  She gave Stacy a hug and moved into her room.

  The arrests had lifted a weight off her shoulders. They’d most likely already arrested the person who’d burned down her rental house, though hopefully enough evidence would emerge for them to level charges for that incident, too. With that group out of the way, plus the timely action taken by the college, maybe the cases of abuse would decrease on campus. With any luck, each meeting of her support group would be smaller and smaller.

  She pulled out the manila envelope she’d hidden under her mattress, removing it from its case and unfolding the chart so she could look at it one more time. Ultimately, there’d been no need to give it to Ryan. They’d solved it without her.